As people from across the nation were making phone calls, sending faxes and churning out email messages to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, 46 volunteer advocates walked the halls of Congress during the March 2nd National Day of Action in Support of the Peace Corps.
Combined with other citizen advocates who arrived in town later in the week, a total of 55 individuals participated in 112 face-to-face meetings with Senators, Congressmen and/or their staff. In addition to that, they helped deliver packets to all other congressional offices, holding informal meetings with staff in a number of instances.
The message? To thank Congress for its outstanding support of the Peace Corps during last year's appropriations process, and to urge continued support as work begins on the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
The advocates focused on so-called "Dear Colleague" letters urging the key appropriations subcommittee to support robust funding for the Peace Corps. As of 3 PM on March 8th, 59 Congressmen/women and seven Senators had signed onto these letters.
We Need YOU to Take Action: Even though NPCA's National Day of Action is over, a critical period of follow-up is underway. Senators have until March 16th to add their name to the Senate letter. The House letter has a March 15th deadline. Taking effective action is as easy as 1, 2, 3:
STEP ONE: Visit www.morepeacecorps.org and click on your state.
STEP TWO: Scroll down to your Senators or Congressman/woman to see if they have already signed onto the Senate (or House) letter. If they have, contact them and say thank you! If they have not, go to the top of your state page for simple instructions on how to take action by phone or email.
STEP THREE: Please contact five other people you know - they don't have to be RPCVs or former Peace Corps staff - provide them with the action link and ask them to take action today!
Thanks to all our advocates who generated such a strong and vibrant Peace Corps presence on Capitol Hill. Contact us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org to find out how you can help!
Visit www.facebook.com/peacecorpsconnect for more photographs from the Day of Action.
And be on the lookout for more updates and action appeals over the next ten days.
Posted by: |